Cairo -
In a remarkable irony, during a press conference to announce the most important achievements of his ministry;
Instead of making his citizens happy, the Egyptian Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Ali Al-Moselhi, angered the Egyptians by announcing an increase in the prices of a number of food commodities, most notably sugar.
Al-Moselhi announced - during the press conference - the increase in the price of sugar on the ration card (the basic commodity subsidy card) to become at 10.5 pounds, instead of 8.5 pounds, with an increase of two pounds, as of the beginning of the new year.
The Minister of Supply attributed the decision to increase the increase in its global price, and the high prices of buying cane from farmers, and to ensure the continuity of production and its provision, in light of the presence of sugar reserves sufficient to cover consumption for a period of 3 and a half months.
To confirm the validity of his decisions, the minister said that the decision to raise the prices of supply oil - which the ministry took last month - is in the interest of the citizen, stressing that if he had not taken a decision to raise oil prices, the Egyptians would not have found the oil, neither in the ministry's outlets nor in the markets.
The Minister of Supply announces the increase in the price of a kilo of sugar from the first of January on ration cards #TeNTV pic.twitter.com/QZGTDP5zBF
— TeN TV (@TeNTVEG) December 29, 2021
The price of "Ethiopia's development"
As usual, the pioneers of social networking sites in Egypt mixed seriousness with humor in expressing their anger at the decision to raise the prices of food commodities, especially sugar. ".
A number of the pioneers of the communication sites denounced the talk about the citizen’s ability to bear such repeated increases, wondering about the existence of salary increases corresponding to the increase in prices, while some of them linked what is happening in the price of sugar to the crisis of the Renaissance Dam - which Ethiopia is currently building and affecting Egypt’s historical share in the water The Nile River - which would reduce the cultivation of water-intensive crops - such as sugar cane - to pay for what they called "Ethiopia's development".
On the other hand, some observers blamed the Egyptian citizen for the rise in prices, due to the continuous population increase, and his failure to absorb international changes, especially the issue of dams.
- New Year's Eve is near and I want to present a gift to the people of
Hani = order me to regret
-
Raise the
price of a bag of sugar from 8 pounds to 10 pounds 😂 pic.twitter.com/5TOwJvqttd
— Your Excellency (@Happiness_owner) December 29, 2021
O great people of Egypt, prepare for the benefit of the first of January 👇
Minister of Supply Ali Al-Moselhi announces in a press conference that the price of a kilo of sugar on ration cards will be raised to 10.5 pounds instead of 8.5 pounds in the beginning of next January
— black honey (@officialmasry2) December 29, 2021
.
The Minister of Supply announces the government's gift to the people
On the first day of the new year:
Increasing the price of a bag of sugar from (8 EGP)
To (10 pounds)
.
— Mahmoud Masaoud (@Masaoud7Masaoud) December 30, 2021
Grocer Ali Mosleh, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, announced raising the price of a kilo of sugar in consumer complexes to 10.5 pounds, starting in January, instead of 8.5 pounds. 2400 There is no provision for another nail in the coffin of the people
- The raven speaks (@AYtklm) December 29, 2021
There is no power or strength except by God, meaning black supply sugar that is tasteless, at the same price as the white sugar sold in the market!
Of course, it will be more expensive in the market, but what do we do like this? I don't understand.. People are coughing up dirt. Do you think their salaries will increase 30% with the same rate of increase in goods?
And they will not waste more?
https://t.co/ukfbrl5ly8
— Marvelous (@m_aaadel) December 30, 2021
Raising the price of sugar by 2 pounds on the ration card to become 10.5 pounds instead of 8.5 pounds.
A natural product of the impact of dams and their damage to us from the time of reducing the cultivation of some crops such as sugar cane, despite the fact that the acre production in Egypt is the highest globally compared to the productivity of the countries of the world. Now we are paying for the so-called development of Ethiopia
— Hany Ibrahim (@hanyibrahim17) December 29, 2021
The people are the reason for the increase in the price of sugar https://t.co/oO42tJAIh8
— Nour (@Nour_mo7amd) December 29, 2021
Raising the prices of 7 food commodities
Sugar is not the only commodity that will witness an increase in prices starting from next January, as the ministry decided to raise the prices of seven food commodities, in return for a decrease in the price of one commodity.
The increases vary between a quarter of a pound and 7 pounds for a number of commodities, most notably melliade, cheese, lentils and pasta, while the price of beans decreased by two pounds, to be the only commodity whose price will decrease during the decisions of next January.
renewed anger
The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi sparked a similar wave of anger last week on the communication sites, regarding the ration cards, during the opening of a complex for the production of gasoline in Assiut Governorate (south of Cairo), after unclear statements about depriving children of the ration card, so that it is limited to the father and mother only. , while in another part he talked about this reduction for the already existing cards, which means stopping the issuance of ration cards in the future.
Despite the lack of support that Egyptian families receive from ration cards, which does not exceed 50 pounds (3.2 dollars) per person per month, with a maximum of 200 pounds per family, these families depend on it to obtain basic commodities, such as: sugar, rice, pasta, oil, flour and tea, in addition to To subsidized bread to withstand successive economic crises.
According to Reuters, Egypt's broad subsidy program provides items such as bread, rice and sugar to more than 60 million Egyptians, with about 30% of the population falling below the government's poverty line, and many suffering from a lack of water or sanitation.
Support cards are issued by the Ministry of Supply, and in the past, beneficiaries could routinely add individuals to support cards issued by the Ministry of Supply, if their families grew up with the birth of children.